A YOUNG woman told her brother that she was excited to celebrate his college graduation before she disappeared without a trace, her heartbroken family has said.
Madeline Pantoja, 21, had dinner with a close friend and was dropped off at her Midland, Texas apartment on May 10 before she vanished, leaving behind her dog, cellphone, and keys.
5
5
5
The following day, Madeline's friend alerted her family, saying that she wasn't responding to texts and calls and had not been seen since around 11pm the night before.
The missing woman's brother came to the apartment complex and knocked on the door, but no one answered.
Her neighbors heard a shouting argument at around 1am the night prior while surveillance footage captured a pickup truck driving away from the house, the family said.
Speaking exclusively to The U.S. Sun, Madeline's heartbroken brother Christian Pantoja said that her disappearance is very out of character as she would never leave her dog unattended.
read more u.s. sun stories
"She was doing perfect," he said, pointing to an excited conversation the two had days before she went missing.
"It was Wednesday when she disappeared and on Saturday was my graduation from Tech. We were texting on how excited we were for us to celebrate that day.
"And when we found out that she was missing... [it] broke my heart.
"She loves her dog very much. It's like a daughter to her. So it's extremely irregular for her to just leave everything behind."
Most read in The US Sun
The Midland Police Department has not named a suspect or deemed Madeline's disappearance suspicious.
Christian said that cops didn't call his parents until about three or four days after she was found to be missing.
"I would understand not calling or not giving information out to the public to keep everything secure," he said.
"However, they never contacted the parents for around three days of her missing until people got upset and they started realizing 'We need to contact the parents.'"
Now, six days after her disappearance, he's desperate for any information.
"They've said that they're trying and I am sure that they are trying. However, there's no leads or nothing," Christian said.
The U.S. Sun has reached out to MPD for any updates on the investigation.
Speaking through a translator, Madeline's father described his daughter as a "very independent young lady" who is "responsible."
He told local NBC affiliate KWES-TV that she would never leave her belongings and beloved dog without informing anyone.
"We've gone to lands over there just empty lots looking, we've had people we don't know searching with their drones," said Ruby Urias, who was translating for Roberto Pantoja.
"We've had people offer horses to us so that we can search.
"All he wants is to find his daughter."
Read More on The US Sun
Madeline is approximately 5-feet 4-inches tall and 130 pounds with long dark hair. She has two butterfly tattoos behind her right ear and a tattoo of a snake on her right arm.
Anyone with information about her disappearance is asked to contact MPD.
5
5
